When Miami Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said that he chose to appear in HBO's "Hard Knocks" this year for football reasons, most of us snickered. Surely, this decision must have come from owner Stephen Ross.

Peter King of SI.com says that's not how it went down. Philbin actually wanted to be on the show, even though general manager Jeff Ireland wasn't wild about it.

"Philbin went to Ireland and told him he'd actually like the spotlight of the show to help his team focus, and to show off that what the team is doing is right, and that the players are ready for prime time," King wrote.

King trusts that his sources aren't just creating revisionist history. And we trust King.

We don't think appearing on "Hard Knocks" is going to greatly influence the Dolphins' season one way or another. But Dolphins fans should take this news as a sign that Philbin is confident in what he is doing. He's not afraid of extra scrutiny. That can't be a bad thing.